


Training Partners

by coolbreezemage



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21639682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbreezemage/pseuds/coolbreezemage
Summary: Hilda rolled her eyes and hefted her axe with surprising ease, jeweled bracelets clicking together on her arms. “Fine, fine, you don’t need to lecture me.” She stepped out into the arena, eyeing Dimitri with a sweet smile as she twirled the massive weapon in her fingers. “Be a gentleman, okay? I don’t want to get my pretty skin all bruised.”
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Comments: 4
Kudos: 114





	Training Partners

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chivalrousamour](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chivalrousamour/gifts).



The Professor wanted them to try something new, now that they could count a few students of the Golden Deer among their ranks. Switching up their usual training partners would not only welcome the new students into their routines, but also allow the Lions to test their skills against unfamiliar techniques.

Dimitri thought it an excellent idea. He knew how Felix moved, Sylvain, Dedue, Ingrid. Fighting with them was a matter of honing skills, of trying new strategies. But sparring with the others presented a new challenge. His Crest, such a blessing on the battlefield, was nothing but a curse here. One wrong move, one moment’s inattention could cause untold harm to his allies and friends. After years of practice, he knew how to face his usual opponents without excessive worry. The others, though, presented him with the twin challenges of learning their moves and how to counter them, and of holding back his full strength so as not to injure them.

He welcomed it, savored the tactics he learned when Mercedes’s light spell blinded him for too many long moments, when he interrupted Leonie’s charge by changing his swing at the last instant. Through all of it he kept his strength contained, used speed and skill as much as raw muscle to win his battles, as the Professor had taught him. _Brute strength can be bested by clever strategy. You must learn when you can rely on one and when you must engage the other._ Somehow it drained him more than his usual routine, but that too felt good, felt like he was accomplishing something. 

He should have known he would fail eventually.

Dimitri’s lance caught the blade of Annette’s axe with more force than he’d intended, sending her flying near halfway across the training grounds to land on the hard tiles with a startled cry of pain.

“Annette!” he called, hurrying forward. 

“Oww...” she complained, still stubbornly maintaining her grasp on the axe as she curled herself around her arm. “Guess I really messed that one up…” 

“Annie! Are you all right?” Mercedes darted out of range of Felix’s sword, earning her a startled curse for interrupting the spar.

“I think he got my arm… It hurts, can you do something?” Tears were coming into Annette's eyes now. Dimitri stepped back. He would be worse than useless here, unless Annette needed someone to carry her to the infirmary, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if she didn’t want him to touch her again… 

Byleth watched the three of them, expressionless, which was as much a mercy as it was a torture. Clearly he did not think Annette’s injuries severe enough to warrant his own intervention, but it meant Dimitri could not tell if the Professor was disappointed in his carelessness. No, that was a foolish question, of course he was. 

Mercedes knelt at Annette’s side to conduct a quick examination. “Not broken, but badly wrenched and bruised.” She closed her eyes in focus, and a moment later a gentle glow leapt into being around her hands. “I can heal most of it, but I want you to rest that arm for a few days.”

“Aw, I’ll try! But there’s so many things to do…” Annette leaned against Mercedes as she worked. The pain and tension melted from her face with every pass of that holy light. When she finished her healing, Mercedes reached down to brush sand from Annette’s skirt and then gave her friend a hand up. 

Dimitri swallowed, and approached them. “I'm truly sorry, Annette,” he began. “I misjudged my strength, and you suffered for it.”

Somehow, she gave him a sunny smile in return. “It’s okay, Your Highness!” Annette chirped. “It’s training, things happen! That’s why we have healers like Mercie. I guess I’ll just have to to train some more...” Her cheer did little to ease the guilty twisting in his stomach. 

Mercedes giggled. “I’d rather it not be necessary, but I’m here if you need me.” She too smiled at him, too gently. “There’s no need to feed bad about it, Dimitri.” They had only met a few months ago, yet somehow she could see right through him. To his relief, Mercedes didn’t wait for him to answer before turning back to Annette. “Say, Annie, how about we focus on magic for a while?”

“That sounds good! Let’s go!” 

They hurried off to the other side of the training grounds and wasted no time getting started. Soon the glow of spellwork hung around them both, drawing Dimitri’s eyes with colorful flashes of light. Off to the other side, Dedue and Hilda circled each other warily, axes raised. Sylvain and Leonie leveled dulled lances and sharper glares at each other, neither faltering in their strikes. All around him, his more stable compatriots worked tirelessly to improve themselves under the Professor’s critical eye. He clearly could not be trusted to do the same. 

Dimitri forced himself to relax his grip on his lance. It wouldn’t do to compound his shame by breaking yet another practice weapon. 

To his relief, his professor didn’t let him stand unpartnered for long. “Hilda, you’re with Dimitri, Dedue, work with Felix.”

“Aww, do I have to?” she whined, pouting theatrically. 

“Yes,” Byleth answered, with all his typical bluntness. “I told you when you joined my class that you would not be permitted to skimp on your work.”

She rolled her eyes and hefted her axe with surprising ease, jeweled bracelets clicking together on her arms. “Fine, fine, you don’t need to lecture me.” She stepped out into the arena, eyeing Dimitri with a sweet smile as she twirled the massive weapon in her fingers. “Be a gentleman, okay? I don’t want to get my pretty skin all bruised.” 

Dimitri resumed his stance, forcing himself to be calm. He’d seen Hilda in battle and knew she was far more proficient than she claimed to be, but if she held back in training, that would only make it more difficult for him to avoid hurting her… 

“Begin!” Byleth commanded, leaving him no more time to think. 

Dimitri charged forward, intending to knock her back and make quick work of the bout. Hilda sighed, raised her blade all too slowly… and brought it crashing into his armored shoulder, sending him tumbling back onto the ground. 

“You’re so _obvious_ ,” Hilda complained. “I can see exactly what you’re thinking.”

A fair criticism, he thought; he’d always struggled with telegraphing his attacks too blatantly. Another voice whispered in his head, berating him for the failure, questioning how he thought he could ever stand on a battlefield...

A rough clang sounded as Felix’s sword bounced harmlessly off of Dedue’s armor.

“Your Highness! Are you injured?” Dedue called, abandoning his own training to hurry to Dimitri’s side.

He stood before Dedue could reach him to offer his hand. “I’m fine, Dedue, just winded. There’s no harm done.” Perhaps a bruise, but one well-earned. He had rarely faced an opponent who could put such raw force behind their blows. “Well done, Hilda.”

She smirked at him, shaking her long tails of pink hair. “You’re going easy on me,” she accused. 

“Is _somebody_ going to actually fight me today?” Felix complained to the room at large. 

Hilda giggled, leaning on the shaft of her axe. “Well, Dimi? Wanna try that again?”

The nickname caught him utterly off-guard, less so Felix’s sharp laugh that followed it. But it was worlds better than being _Your Highness_ all the time, so he met Hilda’s laughing grin with what he hoped was an appreciative smile and raised his lance once more, and for the first time in a long while he did not fear his strength. 

They fought, again and again, Hilda keeping up a constant stream of complaints and encouragements that did nothing to detract from the strength of her blows. Dimitri let himself sink into the dance of force and watchfulness as he rarely could allow, narrowing his focus until the combat was all that existed, meeting Hilda's strikes until his muscles ached with it, savoring the shudder through his bones as their weapons met. The rhythm only broke once, when Hilda's blade, despite being dulled for practice, sheared the head from Dimitri's lance. He threw the useless weapon aside with a startled laugh and near-lightheaded relief that for once he was not the one to ruin a training weapon. 

“Oops!” Hilda said, obviously unconcerned. She shrugged. “Must have been a flawed one. There's no way poor little me could have done that. Guess it's time to take a break?”

“Not just yet,” came the Professor’s voice. Hilda blew out an exasperated sigh, but she was still smiling. Dimitri turned to find Byleth at his side, holding out a fresh lance with a small approving nod. Dimitri accepted it, rolled it in his hands to to test the balance, and threw himself back into the battle. 

By the time the Professor finally called a halt to it, they were both panting and sweating with exertion. Dimitri had quickly lost track of the exact numbers by he was sure he'd lost as many bouts as he'd won. Somehow, the thought didn't stink of failure, but was instead exhilarating - so many victories that yet awaited him. 

“Good work, all of you,” the Professor said as the evening bells rang out from the cathedral, signaling the start of dinner. “Clean up and head to the dining hall.”

Annette hurried up to Dimitri and Hilda. "You two were amazing!" she said. "I want to watch you again sometime."

“I don't want to think about _again_ yet," Hilda said, though she was clearly preening under the praise. "I'm tired. Cleaning up is the worst part,” she complained, “Dimi, can you do it for me?”

Byleth stepped in before Dimitri could find words to answer her. “No, Hilda, you will take care of your own weapons.”

“But I’m tired and sore!” Byleth didn’t budge. “Fine,” Hilda conceded, hefting her axe over her shoulder. 

“Well fought, Hilda,” Dimitri said, following the others to the equipment racks. “I would be very pleased to train with you again.”

Hilda tilted her head as if considering. “Maaaaybe,” she hummed. “It was an awful lot of work, though. I’m all sweaty now, ugh!” Sweaty or not, Dimitri suspected she had enjoyed their training a lot more than she let on.

Sylvain smirked at them and tossed Dimitri a cleaning cloth. Dimitri hadn’t even noticed him come in. “You _liked_ that,” he teased.

“Of course he did,” Felix grumbled, though he was paying more attention to examining his sword than to either of his friends. “The boar’s finally found someone just as savage to lock horns with.”

“Felix!” Dimitri protested. That was unacceptable, for him to insult Hilda so…

Hilda glared at him. “I’m not _savage_ , I’m a nice, sweet young lady!”

“Ooh, Felix,” Sylvain put in. “You don’t want to go upsetting the ladies!”

“Thank you, Sylvain!” Hilda said, gracing him with a smile. 

“Piss off,” Felix muttered.

“Seems like we get each other. You should come to dinner with me,” Sylvain suggested. Dimitri thought of scolding him for the blatant overtures, but he decided to wait and see what Hilda had to say.

She hummed in thought, leaving Sylvain waiting for several long moments before finally saying, “Nah, I don’t think so. Not unless you want to help me out with this…” She held out her axe and a bottle of weapons oil wrapped in a cloth.

Sylvain eyed her. “I’d love to help out such a beautiful lady... but you’re going to have to try harder to make me do your chores.”

Somebody behind them burst out laughing.

“Leonie!” Hilda protested. “You should support me!”

“Not a chance,” Leonie replied. She set her lance in the rack and neatly folded the rag she’d used to clean it. “Y’know, if you’d just done the work yourself instead of complaining about it, you’d be done by now. Come on, let’s eat.” She left without waiting for them to follow. 

Hilda turned to Dimitri. “Ashe said they’ve got verona stew tonight. Let’s get dinner? My treat?”

Dimitri blinked. “The dining hall provides food to all students without payment…”

Hilda smiled. “I know, that’s why it’s so good.” She finished her work on her weapon with only a few grumbles and put her axe and Dimitri’s lance both back on their racks.

“Well?” she prompted, leaning towards him over her laced fingers. “Dinner?”

“Of course,” Dimitri said.

“Wonderful!” Before Dimitri could react, she stepped forward and leaned on his arm. Distantly, he thought that he should dislike the contact, but they had just spent most of an afternoon entirely in each other’s space, and it was hard to resist her bright enthusiasm. “Lead the way!”

Despite the pretense of hanging on his arm, Hilda did most of the leading, and then most of the talking over two generous portions of cheese-laden stew, which suited Dimitri just fine. He sat and ate and offered comments that never failed to spur her onto some new exciting tangent, and let her voice chase away the others competing for space in his head. Listening to her enthusiastic descriptions of jewelry projects, gossip among the Golden Deer, and letters from her brother on the border took enough of his focus that he could push aside the ghosts for a time. 

Slightly harder to ignore were the raised eyebrows and sly smiles Sylvain kept casting in his direction, but those were nothing new, and besides, Hilda seemed to enjoy it, so he decided to let it pass. This time, at least.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my Discord: https://discord.gg/4vpWaZU


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